The Nation's Premier Civil and Human Rights Coalition

Equal Opportunity

Equal opportunity means taking positive steps to end discrimination, to prevent its recurrence, and to create new opportunities that were previously denied qualified minorities and women. Americans for a Fair Chance (AFC) was founded on the belief that the measurable gains accomplished by equal opportunity initiatives contribute to the prosperity and health of our families and communities.

On February 12, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund released “Advancing Equity through More and Better STEM Learning,” a report that examines where and how the nation is losing so many children along the K-16 STEM pipeline and identifies ways to accelerate progress in closing both opportunity and achievement gaps that persist.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Wednesday released guidance to states, school districts, and schools to clarify how federal law requires the equitable distribution of resources to students under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in addition to how they will enforce the provisions.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld, for a second time, the University of Texas’ consideration of race as one of many factors in admissions. In a 2-1 ruling, the federal appeals court rejected the case of Abigail Fisher, a White student not accepted to the University of Texas in 2008 who claimed she was refused entrance due to the university’s affirmative action policy.

During the Rethinking Accountability conference last month in Washington, D.C., Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said that by supporting the Common Core State Standards – which he calls “an important part of driving equitable change in our public school system” – we are also supporting greater investments in education to prepare effective teachers and provide the resources students need to succeed.

In a report released on Friday, the ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ task force issued dozens of recommendations to federal agencies as well as public and private entities on how to effectively address persisting opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color in the United States.

In a 6-2 decision today in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (companion case Schuette v. Cantrell), the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal’s ruling and upheld a Michigan voter initiative that bans the practice of race-conscious admissions to the state’s public universities.

Sent back to the Fifth Circuit in June by the Supreme Court, Fisher is heard again

On November 13, a three-judge panel revisited Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a challenge to race-conscious admissions policies at UT-Austin. The U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in June, stressing the need for strict scrutiny in evaluating the admission policies of institutions of higher education.

On October 15, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (companion case Schuette v. Cantrell). This case will have national consequences on whether a majority of individuals in a state can vote to politically hold back the minority.